Applications for Financial Support for Adaptations or Extensions to achieve permanency for Looked after Children

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
Please also see Adoption Support Services
GUIDANCE
Adoption Support Regulations 2005
This policy was created in July 2014.

Contents

1.Introduction

2.Eligibility criteria

3.Process and approvals

4.The Capital Grant agreement

5.Details of the work required

6.Other grants available to support application

1.Introduction

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The London Borough of Newhamis able to consider applications for capital grant funding towards adapting or extending the homes of adopters or special guardians. Such applications for capital grants are at the sole discretion of the Council and only considered where it is the only route to providing permanent homes for children who are considered to be ‘hard to place’.

Evidence that family finding has been exhausted and the child would therefore be likely to remain in the care system and there are no other alternative options,must be provided prior to the route of financial support for adaptations/extensions being considered.

This is in line with the Council’s ambition around resilience. A child who grows up in a stable and safe home environment would increase their chances of developing into a confident responsible adult and contribute to the social and economic well being of their community.

2.Eligibility criteria

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The Fostering and Adoption Services considers applications for capital funding to enable permanence for Looked after Children (LAC) in the following circumstances;

  • For adaptations/extensions to homes of approved adopters to enable the matching of a ‘hard to place’ child.
  • For adaptations/extensions to homes of second time adopters to enable the placement of a child with their sibling.
  • For adaptations/extensions to homes of existing in-house foster carers to enable them to adopt a ‘hard to place’ child they are currently caring for.
  • For adaptations/extensions to homes of existing in-house foster carers to enable them to take out a Special Guardianship Order for a ‘hard to place’ child.
  • For applications to top up a Disabled Facilities Grant to provide accessible accommodation for a disabled child, or to provide accessible accommodation where the circumstances of the placement are not Disabled Facilities Grant eligible – See 5.

Any capital funding should not duplicate other forms of funding for the adaptations/extensions to the home.

The capital funding is intended for works to provide adaptations to the home for the child or to increase the space for the child only and not for general updating of the home.

The property is required to have appropriate building insurance throughout the course of the grant period.

3.Processes and approvals

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The adopter or Special Guardian should put in writing their request and demonstrate how this meets the criteria set out above. In addition, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide evidence of their ownership of their property by providing official copies of their title at the Land Registry and to provide details of any third party interests in the property such as charges against their registered title, details of their landlord if they have a leasehold interest in their property etc.

The applicant should indicate the likely cost of the proposed project. The total grant amount which will appear on the Grant Agreement will be the final amount and capped. Any overspend on the project will be not be the responsibility of the Council.

It is the responsibility of the Supervising Social Worker/Family Finding Social Worker to outline to their Team Manager the reasons why capital funding is required. Capital funding will only be considered to improve a foster carer/adopter’s home to enable permanence for a ‘hard to place’ child or sibling group. The Supervising Social Worker will need to evidence that family finding has been exhausted prior to this option being considered. The Supervising Social Worker should also identify the type of work that is proposed for capital funding i.e. the type of adaptation or extension proposed to the property and likely cost.

Once agreement to proceed has been obtained by the Team Manager and the ServiceManager, the Supervising Social Worker should complete a financial assessment on the applicant.

A Delegated Decision form will then need to be completed by the Supervising Social Worker and sent to the Deputy Director for Children’s Social Care and Safeguarding for consideration. If the application is supported, the Delegated Decision Form is to be passed to the Executive Director for consideration.

4.The Capital Grant Agreement

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Any agreed grant for significant improvements to an adopter or Special Guardian’s home, will be subject to a legally binding agreement between the Council and theAdopter/Special Guardian.

The capital allocation will be issued as a charge against the applicant’s property on an interest free basis which will be recovered in the event of a breakdown of the child’s adoptive or Special Guardian placement within a five year period.

If the Executive Director agrees to the capital grant being made, a legal agreement will be drawn up between the Council and the applicant.

This agreement will set out;

  • The amount of grant being offered.
  • The terms and conditions of the grant.
  • How the grant will be made i.e. as a grant subject to a charge against the applicant’s home and whether stage payments are to be made and whether interest applies.
  • The full details of the property the grant is for.
  • The details of the charge to be registered against the property at the Land Registry (if applicable).

The agreement will also set out the following terms and conditions of the grant;

  • If the placement breaks down within the five year term of the grant, repayment will be required pro-rata according to the number of years outstanding – see below.

Within year one / Within year two / Within year three / Within year four / Within year five
Percentage of grant to be repaid. / 100% / 80% / 60% / 40% / 20%
  • If there is more than one child in placement and the placement does not break down for all the children, then the recipient will be required to repay a proportion of the grant in accordance with the above table. For example, the recipient is given a grant for £50,000 in respect of two children in placement. In year two of the placement, the placement breaks down with one child, leaving one child remaining in placement. Then in accordance with the above table, in year two the recipient is required to repay 80% which is £40,000. As one child remains in placement, the £40,000 is divided by two which equals £20,000 to repay.
  • The recipient will also be asked to enter into an agreement whereby a charge will be placed on the property prior to any works on the property starting. If for any reason a charge cannot be placed on the property and the placement breaks down within the five year period, the remaining grant will become an outstanding debt which will require repayment. See Appendix 2 regarding the process of placing a charge on a property.
  • If repayment of the Grant is required, the recipient will have up to one calendar year in which to repay the grant from the date of the demand from the Council. Interest shall accrue and be payable from the due date until the Council receives payment in full. A schedule for the repayments will be produced according to the adopter/Special Guardian’s ability to repay the grant and their circumstances.
  • Ifthe placement remains stable, after five years from the date of the agreement the grant will be written off and the charge against the property released.

The grant will only be released to the applicant once any necessary Building Control/Planning approvals are obtained. The SSW will be responsible for monitoring the grant is used for the purposes intended.

In the event of the recipient being unable to care for the child/children through serious illness or incapacity or death, the grant will not be required to be repaid and the charge on the property will be released.

5.Details of the work required

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The Grant Application also needs to consider the following areas in respect of the home:

a.Confirmation of eligibility by proof of either freehold or leasehold ownership by the adopter/Special Guardian. The registered title for the property which is to be provided by the applicant at the outset of the application together with any further documents such as copies of the applicant’s lease for the property (if applicable) will need to be checked as evidence of ownership and to ascertain whether there are any charges registered against the property.

b.Whether there are any restrictive covenants in the deeds to the property which would affect the proposed work. The Council also reserves the right to carry out a search of the Land Registry.

c.Whether the consent of any third party needs to be obtained to carry out the works for instance, the applicant’s landlord may need to give consent if the applicant has a leasehold interest in the property rather than the freehold interest.

d.Whether the property is listed/in a conservation area which may affect the planning consent required and what alterations can be carried out.

e.Specification of work and/or drawing required.

f.Estimate of costs.

Depending on the scope of the work, Building Control or Planning consentmay be required. Obtaining any such consents or permissions will be a condition precedent to the award of any grant.

The recipient will also be asked to obtain a current valuation of their property from a recognised estate agent. If the property is mortgaged, the recipient will also be asked to provide a copy of their latest mortgage statement.

The qualified surveyors within the Council can recommend suitable builders to the applicant if necessary.

The contract to carry out the works is between the recipient and the builder. Any disagreements with the works is not the responsibility of the Council to resolve.

6.Other grants available to support application

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Disabled Facilities Grants are available to make changes to homes to

  • widen doors and install ramps
  • improve access to rooms and facilities – e.g. stairlifts or a downstairs bathroom
  • provide a heating system suitable for your needs
  • adapt heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use

A Disabled Facilities Grant will not affect any benefits that the adopter/Special Guardian is currently receiving.

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Appendix 1

Adoption Support Regulations 2005

Circumstances in which financial support is applicable This sectionnoteType=Explanatory Memorandum has no associated

Financial support is payable under this Part to an adoptive parent for the purpose of supporting the placement of the adoptive child or the continuation of adoption arrangements after an adoption order is made.

2.Such support is payable only in the following circumstances—

a.where it is necessary to ensure that the adoptive parent can look after the child;

b.where the child needs special care which requires greater expenditure of resources by reason of illness, disability, emotional or behavioural difficulties or the continuing consequences of past abuse or neglect;

c.where it is necessary for the local authority to make any special arrangements to facilitate the placement or the adoption by reason of—

i.the age or ethnic origin of the child; or

ii.the desirability of the child being placed with the same adoptive parent as his brother or sister (whether of full or half-blood) or with a child with whom he previously shared a home;

d.where such support is to meet recurring costs in respect of travel for the purpose of visits between the child and a related person;

e.where the local authority consider it appropriate to make a contribution to meet the following kinds of expenditure—

i.expenditure on legal costs, including fees payable to a court in adoption;

ii.expenditure for the purpose of introducing an adoptive child to his adoptive parent;

iii.expenditure necessary for the purpose of accommodating and maintaining the child, including the provision of furniture and domestic equipment, alterations to and adaptations of the home, provision of means of transport and provision of clothing, toys and other items necessary for the purpose of looking after the child.

Appendix 2

Placing a charge on a property

The recipient of grant funding, will be required to sign a grant agreement containing the charge which is to be placed on the property identified as the sole residency of the Special Guardian or adopter. If the recipient owns the property with other parties, then these third parties will need to be party to the agreement.

The social worker/manager will ensure that copies of the Land Registry check are provided by the recipient at the time of their application. Once the representative of the Fostering/Adoption Team are provided with the appropriate Land Registry check they should contact the relevant Assets and Project Lawyer within the OneSource Legal Services who will

1.Provide to the Fostering/Adoption representative with the application form available from the court.

2.The Fostering/Adoption representative will liaise with the recipient and complete the application form (grant agreement containing the charge?)

3.If there is an existing mortgage on the property or the recipient needs their landlord’s consent to carry out the works, it is likely that the recipient will need to appoint solicitors to act to deal with the grant agreement. The recipients solicitor will need to obtain the consent of the mortgageeto the registration of the grant as a second charge against the property and obtain the consent of the Landlord to the work contemplated by the grant agreement. The recipient’s solicitor will need to arrange for the charge to be registered and will need to provide an undertaking to Legal Services that they will lodge the grant agreement with the Land Registry once it has been completed. If the recipient does not have an existing mortgage, they should still be advised to seek their own legal advice as the Council’s solicitors will not be able to give the recipient advice on the terms of the grant agreement and its implications.

4.If the recipient does not have a mortgage/require landlord’s consent for the works and chooses not to have legal representation, then the Council’s solicitors will arrange to register the charge against the property subject to being provided with the registration fees by the recipient.

5.The completed (form) will be returned to the lawyer who will file the form with the court.

6.The judge will then decide whether the charge can be placed.

The charge will remain on the property for the period of the grant.

Appendix 3

Application for release of funds

Application for release of fund in connection with the Grant Agreement between LB Newham and

((insert full name and address of applicant)

I, (insert name of applicant) confirm that I am applying for the total sum of

(insert amount) in relation to the works detailed in (insert name of documents), to be paid in three instalments at agreed intervals as detailed in the Payment Schedule.

Instalment number ______£ ______.

I (insert name of applicant) confirm that the works to date have been carried out to my complete satisfaction and attach herewith the invoice from (insert full name and address of Company carrying out the works), for the sum of (insert amount of this instalment/payment).

Please make cheque payable to (insert full name of Company).

Name of applicant:

Signed: Date:

In the event that the placement breaks down and/or the child/ren cease to reside within a 5 year period from completion of the works. Sections 10.2 and 10.4 in the Grant Agreement will be invoked.

This form to be completed by the applicant and returned along with the relevant invoice(s) to the address below:

Mussarat Gul, Service Manager, Placement Services

On behalf of London Borough of Newham

Newham Dockside

2nd Floor East Wing

100 Dockside Road

London. E16 2QU.

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